Select one practical application from the list below (or add one of your own) and describe how the use of the Clinical Language Circle can be implemented with individuals and/or groups of teachers. Be sure to include your name and section next to your post. Feel free to add to others' comments and expand upon their ideas.
Practical Applications of the Clinical Language Circle
Add Your Comments Below
Resolving Conflicts
The Clinical Language Cycle seems especially useful for resolving conflicts in the workplace. The cycle helps to understand the language used by individuals in all situations but conflicts at work usually fester and grow because of the lack of communication. In order to solve a problem it is essential to understand a conflict when it arises and handle it appropriately before it escalates. When two or more colleagues are having a difference in opinion it will be easier to mediate the conflict by knowing the different communication profiles causing the problem. As a supervisor, I would use the Clinical Language Cycle to determine what the each person involved is communicating and receiving from one another. Through these channels, I could also adapt my style to fit the profiles of the staff involved in the exchange to help the conflict subside with both parties understanding each others point of view. I found the cycle useful even this week when two of my colleagues had a discussion about some of the homework policies in my school. I watched the two discuss notice that one was on the Caregiving side while the other was on the Law-giving (technical) side. I was able to see how they misread each others arguments and I was able to diagnosis the language ( or lack of) that should of taken place instead. The Clinical Language Circle is definitely a great tool for resolving conflicts. Alexander-Laville (Sped Ed)Sherla, I was thinking the same things as I read about The Clinical Language Circle. I definitely see how modifying the way I communicate with people to adjust to their learning styles could make for better supervision (Turnof, Special Ed) Good points Sherla, sometimes I feel like I am talking to the wall when addressing one of my staff. Understanding the receptive language style of my teachers, could help alleviate my frustration with them and as well as their frustration with me. (Rachel, SPED) Rachel and Sherla you make some great points I find that is is very important to know when to adjust my communication style based which team members are collaborating during IEP team meetings. The Clinical Language Cycle helps to show how different people communicate. Keeping in mind these different 'languages,' conflicts are more easily avoided during team meetings. I have found that giving new team members an idea of what clinical language style a difficult parent, advocate or service provider uses may help to resolve or prevent conflicts. (K. Nichols, SPED) As I discussed previously, my principal invited a consultant that was very enlightening for team building. She did a quick activity that incorporated north, south, east, or west. Each of the coordinates described a certain set of attributes...for example north (authoritative), south (soft hearted), east (artistic), and west (analytical). This is just a brief understanding of the activity but we were asked to read the various charactersictics and place ourselves in the cafeteria that was posted with the coordinate. It was a true eye opener just as the Clincal Language Circle and Dialect Assessments because it allowed us as a faculty and staff to see how diverse we were not by race or religion but by our way of thinking. All of the administrators were in the northwestern region, I was located in the south(along with my assistant), our guidance counselor was in the east, and a great deal of the teacher assistants were in the north. This showed us how to approach certain persons and clarified how to respect others. All in all this offered a great initial to a harmonious school culture which is vital for sustanability. (N. Harris, Spec. Ed.)
As our school has grown the administrators and the folks in leadership have lost the focus. We were effective in matching the jobs to the administrators and nurturing the different departments. However, recently we have noticed that there is little collaboration. There are folks whose gifting is systems while others are gifted in compassion. The staff I refer to does not include teachers. The issues are generally diffused because the employees have a common vision. However, it does exist. I wonder if increasing understanding of clinical language variances could increase respect and regard for each other. After I identified my clinical language and after I completed the Keisey analysis I shared the results with my direct supervisor. We talked about some of the differences she and I have had and discussed some of the conflicts she and I have had in the past. I suspect she is on the extreme end of the wheel. The conversation has opened a dialog and facilitated understanding in the few weeks that have followed. (Mayra G. Spec. Ed. )
Assigning Mentors and Peer Coaches
Every year, I ask some of our experienced SLP's to serve as a mentor to our new/incoming therapists. Learning about the Clinical Language Cycle has helped me to refine how I will select mentors. Even though each mentor will have a specific temperament, the individual will need to be successful at modifying their language to adapt to the languages and dialects of the individuals they are mentoring. By learning how to adapt their specific communication style to meet the needs of the new slp they will be more successful in their role as a mentor. It would also be helpful for me to meet with the mentors as a group at the beginning of the year to help them determine their particular style and how it can impact their communications with the individual they are mentoring. In addition, we could talk about the various styles the individuals they are mentoring may exhibit and how this impacts communication and a positive culture. Breeze (Sped Ed 1)Good point, Carol. I think it would be a great idea to have this as part of the mentor introduction session. Not only would it help aid in communication, but it would also be a nice ice breaker to help the mentor and mentee in getting to know one another on various levels and create a community among the mentor group. (B. Ruch Spec Ed.)Carol, I think pairing people up with like communication styles could make for a great mentor partnership and increase understanding (Turnof, Special Ed) I agree Carol, it is as important to know your communication style as well as the style of the individuals you will be mentoring. (Rachel, SPED) I agree Carol, communication skills are critical with engaging with mentees. I like how you would use the Clinical Language Cycle to select mentors. (Heather V., Spec. Ed)
Selecting Team Members
Opening a new school this year, my current principal had to consider this when blending teachers from at least 4 different schools to create new teacher teams. When selecting teachers to work together in teaching teams, it would be imperative to consider how the members will be able to communicate together. In order for the team members to collaborate for scheduling, planning, cross-curricular teaming and teaching, and create team cohesiveness and structure, the teachers would need to be able to listen to understand one another and be able to communicate their thoughts to the group. For the students to have optimal success, the team of teachers would need to be successful in communicating and working together. Teachers on the team could be provided with a language cycle self-assessment and asked to share results with their team. As the team begins to understand their own language styles and personal preferences, they can also begin to understand how and why their colleagues interpret and share messages the way they do. It can help reduce future conflict, build trust within the team. and cause the team to be more productive when they can more readily understand their partner teachers. Brooke (Spec Ed) Brooke, I think that having team members complete the self assessment and share results is vital for the health and functioning of the group. Good point! (J.Broadwater Spec Ed) Brooke, I agree with you that with trust and respect a team is more likely to be more productive. Using The Clinical Language Cycle is a way for teachers to understand each other's language styles. In doing so they can build mutual trust and respect and learn each other's strengths and weaknesses. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses will help the team as they work together towards common goals. (K. Nichols SPED) I recently had a discussion with one of the captains of the cheerleading squad who was inquiring about the selection process of the varsity squad. In her opinion she believed that it was best to “stack” the squad with the top athletes in order to secure a division win in the county cheerleading competition. As she stated her opinion, I could easily see what she was implying, however, the reality of the situation is that, in most cases, you are not always able to hand-select your team. An administrator is able to evaluate each individual member of their educational team; nonetheless, they are not always able to be so selective. The task of an administrator is to take into account all of the expertise, experiences and seasoned backgrounds of their staff and use them to their advantage. Regardless of the situation, “stacking” a school staff can be done. When examining the Clinical Language Circle, the languages and dialects have been established, thus leaving us with organizing, orchestrating, care giving, idealizing, liberating, discovering, problem solving and law giving. All of these qualities can easily be found amongst a school staff. When looking at our current situations, we can identify those peers who are able to solve problems, provide solutions, identify strengths and weaknesses and motivate others to achieve higher than they have ever imagined. The Clinical Language Circle is a clear guide to those people who we must surround ourselves with in order to be goal setters and high achieves. The bottom line is that we all want a “win” and without considering if we are athletes taking the field or educators planning lessons or enforcing policies, we all want success to overcome those who we are working with. With an ideal strategy and utilization of all of our team members/ stakeholders, we will be able to meet our objectives and encourage others to find the will to succeed. (Brandi SPED)
Presently, I am creating collegial study groups using voicethread. I have 40 teachers and have not decided how I want to divide the groups. I think i want to have 4 or 5 groups of 8 to 10. At first I thought of putting groups together with regard to the amount of time a teacher has been working. However, that does not garantee that they are all on the same level. If the teachers are sorted with consideration for their clinical language preference there is a greater change that communication will be encouraged. Conflicts that come clearly from differences in language preference would be reduced. (Mayra G. Spec, Ed.)
Improving Communications
In our IEP meetings, our staff has been struggling to come to consensus on who to test, when to test, and what to test. Even though we collect data and talk before meeting with teachers and parents, our special education team sometimes has difficulty communicating with each other and with the other people at the table during the meeting. The Clinical Language Cycle seems like a good tool to share with team members to look at each others' personality types and strengths so maybe we can step out of our traditional roles (as special educator, speech pathologist, psychologist, etc...) and take on other roles (organizer, caregiver, problem solver) during these sometimes stressful meetings. As we become more familiar with the communication styles of our team, we can begin to identify the communication styles of our referring teachers and parents to know how to present our information in ways that they can understand and accept, so we all can move forward to addressing the needs of the student. R. Dixit (Special Ed) Raj- Your response answers the question I posted under Resolving Conflicts within IEP Teams. Thanks! Breeze (Spec Ed1) I truly appreciate the ideal of stepping out of our traditional roles and stepping into a different perspective. While incorporating The Clinical Language Cycle, we are then able to view all aspects and full communicate with one another in a mannerism that alleviates confusion and clears the way for cohesive team building and problem solving. (Brandi SPED)
The clinical language circle is an excellent tool for facilitating communication because it offers insights into others approaches and styles of interaction and can help resolve conflicts in team communication before they arise. A few years ago my peer group of directors took the full version of this assessment and had a consultant come in and do a presentation with us wherein we discussed our individual results and the resulting group patterns and how those patterns might influence group dynamics. We spent a full 6 hours of an 8 hour retreat-day working through it all. It has proven invaluable to both facilitating communication and preventing conflicts. We tease each other good naturedly to this day when in the heat of a discussion on an important decision we start displaying traits of our dialect. It is a good tension reducer and can help pull us out of ruts when we start going in circles. Communication is impossible when one, both, or many people attempting to communicate are stuck in a rut. Knowing where each other falls on the circle and what that means also allows us to structure the presentation of our ideas in ways that each other will best be able to hear and understand. This is the heart of all communication! (A.Clancy sp. ed.)Tony, I was amazed at how accurately I could identify myself into a category. I could definitely see the benefits in communication issues (Turnof, Special Ed)
The use of the Clinical Language Circle can be implemented with individuals and/or groups of teachers to ensure that supervision leads teachers to the desired avenues that promote instruction. Knowing how to support the many teaching styles is absolutely advantageous to any supervisor. My supervisor did a different version of a personality test with all principals to help us see how we can use the same method to understand those we supervise how to communicate with them. At my school, we are dealing with major personality clashes that leave most of our staff meetings with staff feeling stuck, ignored, overlooked, or even attacked. Knowing where staff fall in the circle and meeting them in between will likely lead to more productive conversations. Using the clinical language circle sounds like exactly what I need to change some of our current challenging dynamics.( Kenny, Spec. ED) Tony, This is so cool. I love that your school took the time and really looked at this in deepth, how powerful. I would love to influence my administrators in doing this. (Heather V. Spec. Ed) We have monthly professional learning community meetings for each grade level. The clinical language circle is an excellent tool the team can use to analyze individual team member's communication style.By using this tool it will allow the team to positively work together while respecting each member’s communication style.This tool can aid in pulling a team together to be an efficient and productive group.Many times at least one individual on the team will become frustrated but if we use the clinical language circle we could figure out where each person fits into the circle and then we could tailor our discussion and presentation format allowing all members of our team to understand the data and be contributing members of our team.It would definitely reduce a lot of the frustration and confusion at the meeting allowing the team to focus on the true reason of the meeting which is student achievement. (Nicole, Special Ed.)
Resolving Conflicts
An idea that came from our administration team, the faculty and staff did a climate survey last spring. Based on that data, it was found that a majority of people do not feel like the environment is cohesive, collaborative, and conflicts are not handled well amongst faculty and staff. After learning about the Clinical Language Circle, I thought this would be a great tool to use to look at everyone's strengths, personality types, and personal preferences on handling situations. Once this has been conducted, this would be a way to break faculty and staff into teams to discuss those pressing needs that were highlighted from the climate survey and start to discuss and implement positive strategies to make for a better climate in our building. H.VanHorn-Special Ed. Heather - I agree! This could be a great tool for determining different styles and it would then lend itself very well to collaborating on the implementation of positive strategies! I also wonder how the circle could be implemented to make IEP Teams more effective and help with resolving conflicts?? Breeze (Spec Ed 1) Heather, my school has been dealing with similiar challenges where staff feel that "administration" is not participating as part of the team. I always felt that perception was driving some of what I thought were faulty views and opinions. The circle has opened my eyes to see that I was not addressing the issue in an appropriate enough way to truly come to a resolution. Understanding where each member falls, and understanding their perception, rather than imposing mine makes much more sense to me now. (Kenny, Spec. ED)
This activity also made me think about how conflict is dealt with in my school. As I began to think I realized that more important than resolving conflict, I think that the cause of much of the conflict is that people are not communicating effectively. It is important for everyone to understand where they fall on the language circle so that they understand how and why they communicate the way they do. This will enable them to communicate more effectively If people have an understanding of the language circle, they may develop a better understanding of how others communicate as well. Having this understanding could prevent some conflict. When conflict does occur, this understanding can also be used to resolve the conflict. I think that it would be effective to review the language circle during staff development and have each teacher and administrator take the survey. The staff could brainstorm how this information could be used. - J. Shambaugh (Spec Ed.) Jessica, I like your idea of having the staff brainstorm how the information could be used. It may create more buy-in if they are coming up with ideas of how to infuse this into the workplace, instead of being forced into something. (B.Ruch - Spec Ed.)
Identifying Mediators
The Clinical Language Circle offers several benefits when applied to identifying mediators. As opportunities for problem solving arise within the school setting, mediators can diffuse the situation, aid in communication, and build resolutions. A breakdown in communication is at the heart of every conflict. The Clinical Language Circle diagnostically identifies communication preferences and therefore offers a concrete tool for mediation. For example, a teacher at my school functions in the “care-giving” realm and works with an instructional assistant that tends to be “law-giving”. They are often involved in conflicts resulting from miscommunication. The administrative team appointed the school milieu manager as the mediator for weekly meetings with the pair. The milieu manager functions within the “problem-solving” realm and has succeeded in facilitating meaningful dialogue between the two. (J. Broadwater-Spec Ed)
Selecting Professional Development Opportunities
Using the Clinical Language Circle can be a very effective way of selecting professional development opportunities for a program or a select group of staff. Once an administrator has recognized that the reality of every staff person is different based on their experiences and how the view the world and that the decisions they make are based on that reality, s/he can begin to look at ways to develop the teacher based on their perceptions, ideals, goals for their classrooms, etc. I find that many professional developments are chosen, not based on the needs of the staff but on the needs of the person selecting them. If we can understand that not every teacher has the same needs, will not need the same resources, and will make different choices based on their own style, comfort, and/or ability, then we can choose professional development opportunities that will cater to the differences that we should embrace in our teachers. Finding different opportunities that can foster the development of each of the types of teachers, whether they are inventing teachers, knowing teachers, caring teachers, inspiring teachers, or a combination of any of the four, will allow them to flourish in the way that they feel comfortable teaching and not feel forced to conform to what our perception of how they should be based on the professional development that we provide. -M. Defoe (Special Ed) (True, Malaika, we often teach according to our own personal learning style. When we work with students we often go outside of the box to try to meet their different learning styles, but we really should be doing the same thing with the adults in our professional development community. Our weekly staff meetings are stuck in a rut of presenter presents - staff listens. This kind of professional development not not reach out to those of us who want are caregivers, inventor, or problem solvers.(R. Dixit, Special Ed)
I could definitely see using the Clinical Language Circle as a profession development opportunity. By staff learning each others language style and the ways to effectively communicate with each other. In another job I worked at, the agency provided training on staff work styles and how the different styles could collaborate. It was a really interesting experience and helped our team work productively together. In examining the Clinical Language Circle I could definitely see it as a tool to use in team building. As a future administrator, I could definitely see it assisting me in communication and supervision of staff. (Turnof Special Ed.) Professional development opportunities are important to the advancement and progression of staff and students. When looking for staff to attend professional development sessions, I find myself wondering who will benefit the most from this opportunity. The clinical language circle would be a benefit in making these decisions. Knowing where a teacher falls on the circle and understanding how they receive, process, and communicate the information would be a factor in my decision making process. This way the individuals who will gain the most from the experience will have the opportunity to participate in the experience. (Rachel, SPED)
Select one practical application from the list below (or add one of your own) and describe how the use of the Clinical Language Circle can be implemented with individuals and/or groups of teachers. Be sure to include your name and section next to your post. Feel free to add to others' comments and expand upon their ideas.
As our school has grown the administrators and the folks in leadership have lost the focus. We were effective in matching the jobs to the administrators and nurturing the different departments. However, recently we have noticed that there is little collaboration. There are folks whose gifting is systems while others are gifted in compassion. The staff I refer to does not include teachers. The issues are generally diffused because the employees have a common vision. However, it does exist. I wonder if increasing understanding of clinical language variances could increase respect and regard for each other. After I identified my clinical language and after I completed the Keisey analysis I shared the results with my direct supervisor. We talked about some of the differences she and I have had and discussed some of the conflicts she and I have had in the past. I suspect she is on the extreme end of the wheel. The conversation has opened a dialog and facilitated understanding in the few weeks that have followed. (Mayra G. Spec. Ed. )
I recently had a discussion with one of the captains of the cheerleading squad who was inquiring about the selection process of the varsity squad. In her opinion she believed that it was best to “stack” the squad with the top athletes in order to secure a division win in the county cheerleading competition. As she stated her opinion, I could easily see what she was implying, however, the reality of the situation is that, in most cases, you are not always able to hand-select your team. An administrator is able to evaluate each individual member of their educational team; nonetheless, they are not always able to be so selective. The task of an administrator is to take into account all of the expertise, experiences and seasoned backgrounds of their staff and use them to their advantage. Regardless of the situation, “stacking” a school staff can be done. When examining the Clinical Language Circle, the languages and dialects have been established, thus leaving us with organizing, orchestrating, care giving, idealizing, liberating, discovering, problem solving and law giving. All of these qualities can easily be found amongst a school staff. When looking at our current situations, we can identify those peers who are able to solve problems, provide solutions, identify strengths and weaknesses and motivate others to achieve higher than they have ever imagined. The Clinical Language Circle is a clear guide to those people who we must surround ourselves with in order to be goal setters and high achieves. The bottom line is that we all want a “win” and without considering if we are athletes taking the field or educators planning lessons or enforcing policies, we all want success to overcome those who we are working with. With an ideal strategy and utilization of all of our team members/ stakeholders, we will be able to meet our objectives and encourage others to find the will to succeed. (Brandi SPED)
Presently, I am creating collegial study groups using voicethread. I have 40 teachers and have not decided how I want to divide the groups. I think i want to have 4 or 5 groups of 8 to 10. At first I thought of putting groups together with regard to the amount of time a teacher has been working. However, that does not garantee that they are all on the same level. If the teachers are sorted with consideration for their clinical language preference there is a greater change that communication will be encouraged. Conflicts that come clearly from differences in language preference would be reduced. (Mayra G. Spec, Ed.)
I truly appreciate the ideal of stepping out of our traditional roles and stepping into a different perspective. While incorporating The Clinical Language Cycle, we are then able to view all aspects and full communicate with one another in a mannerism that alleviates confusion and clears the way for cohesive team building and problem solving. (Brandi SPED)
The clinical language circle is an excellent tool for facilitating communication because it offers insights into others approaches and styles of interaction and can help resolve conflicts in team communication before they arise. A few years ago my peer group of directors took the full version of this assessment and had a consultant come in and do a presentation with us wherein we discussed our individual results and the resulting group patterns and how those patterns might influence group dynamics. We spent a full 6 hours of an 8 hour retreat-day working through it all. It has proven invaluable to both facilitating communication and preventing conflicts. We tease each other good naturedly to this day when in the heat of a discussion on an important decision we start displaying traits of our dialect. It is a good tension reducer and can help pull us out of ruts when we start going in circles. Communication is impossible when one, both, or many people attempting to communicate are stuck in a rut. Knowing where each other falls on the circle and what that means also allows us to structure the presentation of our ideas in ways that each other will best be able to hear and understand. This is the heart of all communication! (A.Clancy sp. ed.) Tony, I was amazed at how accurately I could identify myself into a category. I could definitely see the benefits in communication issues (Turnof, Special Ed)
The use of the Clinical Language Circle can be implemented with individuals and/or groups of teachers to ensure that supervision leads teachers to the desired avenues that promote instruction. Knowing how to support the many teaching styles is absolutely advantageous to any supervisor. My supervisor did a different version of a personality test with all principals to help us see how we can use the same method to understand those we supervise how to communicate with them. At my school, we are dealing with major personality clashes that leave most of our staff meetings with staff feeling stuck, ignored, overlooked, or even attacked. Knowing where staff fall in the circle and meeting them in between will likely lead to more productive conversations. Using the clinical language circle sounds like exactly what I need to change some of our current challenging dynamics.( Kenny, Spec. ED) Tony, This is so cool. I love that your school took the time and really looked at this in deepth, how powerful. I would love to influence my administrators in doing this. (Heather V. Spec. Ed)
We have monthly professional learning community meetings for each grade level. The clinical language circle is an excellent tool the team can use to analyze individual team member's communication style. By using this tool it will allow the team to positively work together while respecting each member’s communication style. This tool can aid in pulling a team together to be an efficient and productive group. Many times at least one individual on the team will become frustrated but if we use the clinical language circle we could figure out where each person fits into the circle and then we could tailor our discussion and presentation format allowing all members of our team to understand the data and be contributing members of our team. It would definitely reduce a lot of the frustration and confusion at the meeting allowing the team to focus on the true reason of the meeting which is student achievement. (Nicole, Special Ed.)
This activity also made me think about how conflict is dealt with in my school. As I began to think I realized that more important than resolving conflict, I think that the cause of much of the conflict is that people are not communicating effectively. It is important for everyone to understand where they fall on the language circle so that they understand how and why they communicate the way they do. This will enable them to communicate more effectively If people have an understanding of the language circle, they may develop a better understanding of how others communicate as well. Having this understanding could prevent some conflict. When conflict does occur, this understanding can also be used to resolve the conflict. I think that it would be effective to review the language circle during staff development and have each teacher and administrator take the survey. The staff could brainstorm how this information could be used. - J. Shambaugh (Spec Ed.) Jessica, I like your idea of having the staff brainstorm how the information could be used. It may create more buy-in if they are coming up with ideas of how to infuse this into the workplace, instead of being forced into something. (B.Ruch - Spec Ed.)
I could definitely see using the Clinical Language Circle as a profession development opportunity. By staff learning each others language style and the ways to effectively communicate with each other. In another job I worked at, the agency provided training on staff work styles and how the different styles could collaborate. It was a really interesting experience and helped our team work productively together. In examining the Clinical Language Circle I could definitely see it as a tool to use in team building. As a future administrator, I could definitely see it assisting me in communication and supervision of staff. (Turnof Special Ed.)
Professional development opportunities are important to the advancement and progression of staff and students. When looking for staff to attend professional development sessions, I find myself wondering who will benefit the most from this opportunity. The clinical language circle would be a benefit in making these decisions. Knowing where a teacher falls on the circle and understanding how they receive, process, and communicate the information would be a factor in my decision making process. This way the individuals who will gain the most from the experience will have the opportunity to participate in the experience. (Rachel, SPED)